The Vampire's Cocktail
by Ezevans
Summary: This is a story about a average reporter who gets thrown into an epic journey to find out what happened to his clients friend Jack. Along the way he finds out about the scary truth of vampires and the true nature of thier powers.


The Vampire's

Cocktail

By:

M R

**Chapter 1**

I received a phone call last night. The person on the other end of the line said to come to room 15B at the Holiday Inn tonight at 10:00. The reason was that he had a story of a life time to tell me. It was ten minutes to ten as I walked down the hall in the B tower towards room fifteen. This was a good night to be inside.

The snow lay heavily on the ground as the wind rattled at the windows. My overcoat, dampened by the snow, dripped on the clean vinyl floor. At last I came to room fifteen. Knocking twice on the door brought no answer, but I waited patiently.

After five minutes a mysterious voice grunted, "Are you alone?"

"Yes." I replied casually and the owner of the voice reluctantly opened the door and let me in. The room was the same as all the Holiday Inn's I've been in, quaint and livable.

Let me pause for a moment and tell you about myself. My strongest ambition, since I was a young man, was to be a reporter. I graduated from Ball-State University with the highest honors. I mainly write freelance and sell to the local paper.

I have no idea what this interview will be about but one thing is clear- it will be unique or they would not have contacted me. Back to the story. I entered the dimly light room as a short figure quickly shut and locked the door. On the bed sat a tall and lanky man.

"He has arrived." The short one said. The man on the bed got off and walked toward the window.

"Good. I want to get this over with. I don't feel comfortable here or telling him."

"The world has the right to know! You don't want a repeat of what happened."

"But…"

"Do you?!"

"No. Why him? Isn't there any one else?"

"He is the only one and I trust in him to keep it quiet until the world is ready for this. I ask you as a friend to trust me to put our trust in him and to help me tell this tale with the most accuracy you can give. OK?"

"OK."

"Good. Let's get started."

"Where did he go?" The tall one exclaimed seeing as I vanished from the entrance hall.

"I'm over here." I responded from the table in the corner where I had spent their argument setting up for our interview. On the table were tape recorders, notepads for taking notes, tapes, and a dusty lamp that gave off just enough light to see the table surface but nothing else. "Now if you two gentlemen will stop fighting we get on with this interview. It is getting late." I suggested to them but no one moved.

A thick silence descended upon the room. Outside the sounds of cars driving through the slush were dimly heard above the howl of the wind. In the room the only sound was the hum of the heater kicking on and off. Finally, at ten-thirty, according to the digital clock on the bed side table, the tall one started to sit down.

"It is time for us to reveal ourselves." He said as he took the seat on my right hand side facing me. His facial expression, revealed by the light from the desk lamp, was one I have never seen and will probably never see again. Signs of depression and worry were apparent through the expression on his face. His whole face was pale except for the bags underneath his eyes. His eyes stood out most of all on his face. They were light blue, the eyes of compassion, and sunken in like the rest of his face.

His hair was long and neatly washed and combed. He wore tight fitting blue jeans that looked like they were brand new. His shirt, also brand new, was a solid blue.

"Come. Sit down. It will be easier on both of us." The tall one told his friend.

"Ok. Ok. I did arrange this interview, so we should start." The short one said as he sat down.

His face looked a lot like the other's face except it was fuller. For a little guy he was well built. The T-shirt had a picture of a Bigfoot or something else but it was hard to tell with all the stains and holes on the shirt.

"Good times. Good times." I said while reminiscing.

"Why did you say that?" the short one asked.

"Your T-shirt reminded me of my encounter and interview with Bigfoot."

"You've seen Bigfoot!"

"Yes."

"Then everything was true. I told you! And I've been telling you for twelve years he is real! Does anyone else know?"

"No. The interview is still in my briefcase. I need it to finish the reporting journal on it. It isn't easy to translate their language but I know the basics."

"How are they? Are they hostile or gentile?"

"I believe that this isn't the subject of the discussion. If there is nothing more to talk about, then this has been a waste of my time." I ended the conversation. No one said anything. They just sat there gazing at me with thoughtful eyes. The silence that fell over the room was no normal silence. The sound of cars outside nor any one in the hallway was heard. The pale yellow light from the lamp on the desk lit up the desk and their faces.

Everything else was plunged into darkness. Since no one responded to me, I started to pack my stuff up and get ready to leave.

"Wait!" the short one said, "Don't leave. This story is worth your time. Trust me, I should know." That caught my attention and I sat back down.

"You have my full and undivided attention. When you start the story please start the recorder. I will be taking notes for my journal." I explained while pushing the recorder towards the two of them. The short one looked at the tall one for reassurance and started a chilling tale.

"This is the story of our friend whose fate was sealed because of what he was. I'm talking about vampires."

"Vampires! I thought this was 'a story of a life-time'. I've heard enough vampire stories. This is a waste of my time."

"This is different. Just listen to what I have to say and you may have second thoughts. First, let me tell you about the parent's history. In 1750 a man was killed by Lord Vain, shortly after vain was discovered to be a vampire. The man was promptly buried. It wasn't until 1754 until they found out that he could be a vampire. The villagers dug up his grave to find that the casket was missing. It was never found.

15,000 miles away, in 1782, a young lady was on her way to town when she was attacked by a vampire. Her body was found after the villagers killed the known vampire in that region. She was pronounced dead from loss of blood and was buried. She became a known vampire when she was discovered by her father standing over her dead mother with blood on her mouth.

After one hundred years, both met at the local vampire hideout in London. They were married and moved to America where there were, supposedly, no vampires. Over time they discovered that they were getting immune to the sun and could hide their teeth. The only thing that didn't change was the fact that they needed blood to survive. The last and greatest thing they discovered was that they could reproduce."

"I've heard of two other cases, but they were eliminated. This is nothing new."

"Wait! They had a child. We should know, we were its best friends."

"Why were you friends with a vampire? You know how dangerous they are!"

"I don't know! We don't know! That's one of the traits! It's just that…" he started rambling.

"Shut up!" The tall one screamed at the top of his voice, "Just shut up! I would very much like to get on with the telling of the story!"

"OK. First let me introduce myself. My name is Ed." The short one replied.

"I'm Chuck" Ed's friend said. He stood up to shake my hand, but when I didn't move he sat back down sheepishly.

"Let us begin. It all started on a Monday morning several years ago…"

**Chapter 2**

We woke up that morning at a sleepover at Jack's house. Jack and I met in kindergarten. We were the only kids that were bullied and teased. We became buddies and helped each other out. In the fourth grade we met Chuck. He was asked by the teacher to show us how the computers worked. After that the three of us became unseperable. This morning was like all the other ones we had.

We awoke in Jack's medium size room. There was no ceiling in the room; instead the attic floor beams were visible in front of the slanted roof. The walls and floor were covered with dark oak boards that when well with the natural oak door. This room seemed like a normal room except for the bed. Underneath the bed was a padded storage space that we used to hide in when we were young. It was a few weeks until Jack's birthday, yet we already stared celebrating.

"Happy Birthday!" I exclaimed half-heartedly. I waited for a reply, but none came. Chuck had already left the room to probably get something to eat, when Jack woke up screaming.

"AHHHH!" Jack screamed sitting up right.

"Jack! Jack! It's ok. What's wrong? What happened?" I asked.

"It was the dream, Ed. It's getting longer. People have died this time. You know who they were?"

"No"

"They were the Mannor children. Their parents will be after the killers and stop at nothing to do it."

Running was heard out in the hallway and Chuck came into the room.

"What's wrong? Is everything all right?"

"Yes. He just had his dream again."

"Well hurry up and get dressed, it's a school day you know." Chuck said as he left the room to allow us to get ready.

"You sure your all right?"

Yes, Ed. Lets go, I smell pancakes." Jack said and started to leave.

"Jack."

"Yes"

"Happy Birthday"

"Not yet it isn't." He concluded and left the room to have some breakfast.

We went to the local high school that was close to our homes. The only class we had together was history with Mr. Masson. As the bell rang Mr. Masson swept into the room, allowing the door to close behind him. Masson was tall and lanky. He wore a black outfit with a flowing black overcoat. He had an army haircut and wore sunglasses that he never took off.

"Complete the section review for chapter fourteen. Due by the end of class." Masson sneered, "Chuck! Put that PDA away! Now!"

After about ten minutes someone knocked on the door.

"Come in." Masson said and Ryan walked in. Ryan was well built and on the football team. In class he is completely clueless. He is referred to as Masson's lackey.

"Mr. Masson, sir. Here's those print outs you wanted. 'Normal Habits of Vampires', strange title for an essay." Ryan said out loud.

"Give me those." Masson hissed while taking the print outs, "You better be glad you're my favorite or you would have detention for a year. Get back to class." Ryan nodded and scurried out of the room. "No one heard a thing. Now, back to work" He said fuming and stayed behind his desk for the rest of the hour.

After the bell rang, we left discussing what had happened.

"I wonder what that essay said. It would be helpful in my monster research." I said.

"Ed, you are completely obsessed with all this monster business that it's scary." Chuck stated.

"Yes, but it would be cool if…"

"Knock it off, Ed." Jack and Chuck said in unison.

"Sorry."

"This is strange. Why would Masson want to know about vampires?"

"I don't know, Chuck. Vampires don't exist, right."

"Right"

"Actually, the first recorded vampire…"

"Shut up" They said in unison again.

"So either he's trying to prove logic wrong or he's as paranoid as Ed."

"Hey! I resemble that remark." I said and they had a big laugh.

That evening we went back to Jack's house to pick up our thing that we left there. Chuck and I were invited for dinner. After dinner we went to Jack's room to work on some homework. About an hour later, Jack was asleep, Chuck was on the computer, and I was working on my research when I heard raised voices coming from the kitchen. Sneaking down the hall, I heard Jack's parents debating.

"We must tell him. I can't stand keeping secrets from our own son."

"No. It would ruin his life."

"He's almost of age."

"Maybe it doesn't transfer. There's still that chance. I hope he never finds out."

"He's going to find out. He's our son!"

No. No! We swore we'd keep this a secret. Even our parents don't know!"

"Our parents are dead! You know they are."

"Don't accuse me of forgetting…"

"I'm not and I'm going to tell him, with or without you." Mrs. Dilbert said as she came around the corner.

She wore her usual funeral dress. She was tall and thin with flowing blond hair that made you fell secure around her. Her face was pale with an unearthly glow that disappeared when she saw me.

"Oh, Ed, I didn't see you there.

I walked back to Jack's room still horrified at what I saw. When I entered the room Jack and Chuck were having a conversation.

"Yeah, but the ability of super strength would be a plus." Jack said arguing.

"No it wouldn't. Any thing about being a vampire is not good." Chuck retorted.

"How about…" Jack thought.

"No. Vampires are the lowest form of the living dead. They are cannibals of the underworld." Chuck finished.

"Am I interrupting any thing?" I said closing the door.

Two weeks pasted since that conversation and Jack's birthday came and went. It was a Friday morning just before school started, when an event occurred that would start the chain reaction. Jack arrived at school looking extremely pale and was exhausted.

"What's wrong Jack?" asked Chuck as soon as he saw Jack.

"I had that dream again."

"So why do you have dried blood on your lip?" I inquired and Jack ran into the washroom to find the little line of crimson blood on the bottom of his lip.

**Chapter 3**

We concluded our discussion and said good bye. It was 2:30 A.M. Our next meeting was going to be next week same time at Ed's house. I exited the building into the full force of the blizzard. Thankfully my home was only two miles away in Madison. When I got home I started to write this report and, it was now 4:53 A.M., finally went to sleep.

Throughout the next week I spent my time looking through local records trying to find some clue to who the Dilbert's were. On Saturday morning I went to the police station.

"Is there anything else you need detective?" asked Officer O'Herra.

"No, that will be all."

"I'll be at the front desk if you need me."

"Thanks."

For three hours I sat and searched through file after file looking for anything that would help me in my investigation. Finally, around noon, I found a manila folder with the name 'Dilbert, J' in a box of closed cases. According to the file, Mr. Dilbert lived on 789 Elm Road with his wife and son. His son vanished soon after his sixteenth birthday. Mr. Dilbert filed a missing person's report, but was charged for murder and went to jail to await trial.

It was then that a newspaper clipping caught my attention.

_**Cop Murders Two Inmates**_

At six o'clock this morning, the guard on duty at the county jail killed Mr. and Mrs. Dilbert. The two inmates were awaiting trial for the Mannor murders last month. They were discovered when Mr. Dilbert filed a missing persons report at the police station. Upon their arrest they put up a fight and Mr. Dilbert said, "I don't care what happens to us, just find our son."

Eyewitness accounts report that they saw their eyes turn white with fury and, supposedly, became much stronger. "The man's eyes were filled with rage, while the woman's were filled with sorrow." Eyewitness Dan Peters told reporters. The cop in question of their murders was promptly fired and charged with

_Continued on pg. B3_

_More on the Mannor killings pg. B4_

The only thing that was strange was the fact that there was no mention of the fact that they were vampires. I feel that it was the police who knew the truth of this so called 'murder'.

"O'Herra, could you come here please."

"Yes. What do you need, detective?"

"Were you here for the murder of the Dilbert's?"

"No. I'm afraid not, detective. I've only been here for a year. You could ask Chief Bodner. I'll go get him if you…"

"No thanks. I was just wondering…" I said trailing off into thought.

As the week went by I worked on this journal and the report to go with it. Saturday evening, Chuck came to pick me up and take me to Ed's house. Once we were on our way I asked him some questions.

"Could you tell me more about yourself and how you came into all of this?"

"Not now. It isn't safe to talk about such things."

"Well, what happened with the Mannor killings?"

"The Mannor's were the most respected people in town. Hubert Mannor came from a modest family of brewers. Since Hubert didn't want to continue in his fathers foot steps, he started a banking firm. Turns out that Hubert was really talented at handling money and stocks with out a hitch. He started to sell shares for pure profit. He got rich, fast.

During a business trip to Denver, Colorado, he met a young woman by the name of Mary Michel. They promptly got married. They were happy with their four children until all the children were brutally murdered. They, try as they might, were never able to find the true killer of their children. They finally had to move away to escape the memories of the house. We're here," Chuck concluded as we pulled into the driveway to Ed's house.

Ed's house was a piece of work. Instead of being decorated for Christmas, it was ready for Halloween. His old iron, spike topped fence was strung with garlic. Tombstones and silver bullets littered the yard. Wooden spike crosses hung in all the windows. We walked up to the old Dark Age style door and knocked.

A muffled voice called out, "Who is it?"

"Chuck." Instantly the sound of grinding gears was heard from behind the door. Then the door opened automatically and we stepped inside as Ed entered the hallway through a side door.

"Hello and welcome to my humble home." Ed said with a sweeping bow.

"Nice door. Dark Age style with a voice and name recognition lock."

"Were you in the trade?"

"No. I use the exact same thing on my door."

"Well, shall we go down to my work room?"

Ed led us down to the end of the hall and into a closet. The space was big for the average hall closet. The walls were colored grey and bore only one self. On that shelf sat a locked box, witch Ed opened and push the button inside. The floor started to move and then it dawned on me: this was an elevator. We finally stopped and, as the doors opened, I was impressed by the site.

We had descended two stories underground into a cavernous room. The walls were covered with whirling, clicking, buzzing machines. The floor, mainly around the elevator, was tiled black and white. Those tiles were big enough for a full grown man to fit through.

"Mind the black tiles. They will put you into my death maze." Ed warned and started to jump the tiles.

"I'm surprised the government hasn't found this yet."

"Well, I wouldn't be here if they had." I crossed the tiles and contemplated on what was the death maze. On one side of the wall was a wooden door that leads into a meeting room. We sat down and got started.

"I have some questions pertaining to both of you. First, could you tell me more about yourself, Chuck?"

"I'm Chuck B. I grew up in small town California. I moved her at the end of the third grade. My parents have been dead two years now and Ed is the closest thing to family I've got left. I'm the on who built this workshop for Ed. I work for the government creating anti-viruses for their computers," concluded Chuck. I jotted down the last note and looked toward Ed.

"You really don't want to know."

"Yes I do."

"Can you spell really well?"

"Try me." I challenged, leaning in closer to Ed. He paused for a moment before saying:

"Now, where did I leave off…? Oh yeah I remember now…"

We had found a sign. Even thought we didn't know it yet, but something was happening. I believe that fate had a hand in this. It was fate that put us together, but for what reason. We, unknowingly, would find out soon. We went on with our day wondering what happened.

On the way home we discussed the incident.

"Now, I did some research on the internet and came to two conclusions: One, you bit your lip, or Two, you're a vampire." Chuck said with an air of accomplishment.

"Chuck, if I was a vampire, then I would have a pale face, a death chill, and bite marks on my neck. Since I don't have any of them, we can rule that possibility out." Jack said and then started to talk about school and other things until we reached his house. After we picked up our stuff, we headed to our homes.

My parents were out of town, so I made some dinner and sat on the couch to watch some TV. During a commercial break, the doorbell rang. I went to the door to see who it was. A police officer was standing there and asked:

"Hello, may I come in?"

"Sure." I said leading him into the living room.

"My name is Officer Bodner and I would like to ask you a few questions concerning the Mannor killings. First, what is your name?"

"Ed."

"Did you know any of the Mannor children?"

"No."

"Are your parents' home?"

"No. They should be back in a few hours."

"Thank you for your time." He said and got up and left.

I thought nothing of the conversation and went back to watching TV. Jack didn't show up to school for the rest of the week. Saturday we went to Jack's house to celebrate his birthday and were greeted at the door by Mrs. Dilbert.

"Ed! Chuck! Come in. Come in."

"Thanks Mrs. D."

"Jack's in his room. We think he has a cold." She added in a whisper. We entered Jack's room to find him staring at the ceiling, his face drained of color.

"Hey guys! Sorry I haven't been at school, but my parents say I have a cold."

"Jack, can I use your computer?"

"Why?"

"I'm banned from…"

"Then you shouldn't have been trying to hack the internet!" Jack all of a sudden screamed at Chuck. 'Ding Dong'

"That must be the pizza I ordered." Jack said happily as he exited the room.

**Chapter 4**

'Ding Dong Ding Dong' I looked up to the ceiling to realize that someone was at the door.

"You expecting…"

"No. Followed…"

"No." Ed and Chuck said to each other, but by the time they looked back I was out the door. They caught up to me at the elevator. 'Ding Dong'

"You have a partner that traced you here! I knew you couldn't be trusted! I…"

"I work alone."

"Then who is at the door?" Ed said and we all looked up at the ceiling. 'Ding Dong' we traveled up the elevator to the main level and headed toward the front door. Ed opened the door and, standing there on the porch, were two young men. They wore white shirts, black dress pants, sunglasses, and black trench coats.

"I'm Detective Ryder and this is Detective Troy from the FBI. We are looking for a Mr. Chuck B." said the man on the left as he flashed us his badge.

"I'm Chuck B." Chuck said coming forward, "What do you want?"

"May we come in?" replied Detective Ryder.

"Yes, follow me." Ed answered and led us down the hall into the door opposite of the elevator. That door led to Ed's den. "Would either of you like something to drink?" Ed asked the two men.

"No were fine." Replied Detective Ryder.

"What is it you guys wanted to see me about?" Chuck said as he sat down.

"My partner and I have been investigating the slashed throat murders."

"I've read about them."

"Well, the first murder happened to a hobo around the age of 50. He had a large gash on his neck, but there was no puddle of blood around him. Then, several weeks later, another murder occurred. This time it was to 75 yr old, Arnold Menzir, who was found dead in his apartment with the same characteristics as the first murder.

For the next three years the murders continued and still no suspects or leads. The reports came in from all across the state, while the state troopers tried to track them. Things began to get desperate, so they called in the FBI was called in."

"Where do I come into all of this?"

"A few days ago, we received a phone call. The caller told us that he had a clue to help solve the murders. The clue was that we should look to the past. We started searching the database and found several people linked with any strange killings. Your name was one of them. We went to your house, but you weren't home. The neighbors said you would be here."

"Any one ring a bell, Ed." Chuck asked him and Ed stood there thinking. After several minutes he shook his head 'no'.

"Can we ask you a few questions?" Ryder asked.

"Yes, Yes. I wouldn't want to waste your night. Ed, I'm going home. Could you take the 'detective' home for me?"

"Sure."

"If you gentlemen will follow me, we will continue this discussion at my house." Chuck said as he left the room.

"Nice meeting you, Ed, who ever you are." Ryder said shaking our hands. He left followed by his partner. After the cars rolled away down the street Ed broke the silence.

"I hate the FBI. They're completely full of themselves. It's disgusting."

"It's late. I need to get home."

"OK Let me get ready first."

After tonight's discussion, I feel that there is more to Ed and Chuck than they've told me. Then there's Jack. There has never been another finding of this kind and probably never will be again. All signs of being a vampire are present in Jack except the two key ones. The bite mark and a death chill. How could it be possible for vampires to breed live children? Since they are of the un-dead, shouldn't their children be dead? If they found a way to breed live children, then the children should have the vampirical gene in them. Right

So, if all my statements and questions are right, then we may be facing a new breed of vampires. I would soon find out the truth. For two long weeks I sat in my apartment working on this journal and report with no word from Ed or Chuck. Then, in the middle of the week, I received a letter from Chuck.

The letter said to meet at his place this Saturday. So, on Saturday, around five o'clock, I started to walk the four miles to his house. The journey was easier since the weather lightened up from the blizzard three weeks ago. New Years had past and the snow was starting to slowly melt, yet I still wore my trench coat. As I walked past a secluded ally, I noticed someone hunched over a young child. The person hunched over the child wore a cloak so I couldn't tell if they were male or female.

The child, however, was a seven year old boy. He had short brown hair and light green eyes. The strange thing about the eyes was that they had pain, agony, and sorrow in them, but also they had innocence. There was a small puddle of blood around the head of the child. The hooded figure started to walk off down the ally, unaware that someone was watching. Trying to remember the event as best I could, I continued to Chuck's house.

Chuck's house was an apartment inside an old complex on the other side of town. I walked up to the rotting door and pushed the call button.

"Who is it?"

"It's me." I replied and Chuck buzzed me in. The hall of the building was covered with grey peeling wallpaper. Chuck's apartment was on the second floor, number 2B. I got to the door and knocked.

Chuck opened the door and welcomed me inside. The inside consisted of four rooms: the kitchen, bedroom, bathroom, and living room. The kitchen was blue with light brown cabinets. The yellow fridge and stove were side by side on the right; the table was on the left. The bathroom was small and white and contained just a shower.

The bedroom was completely black. The desk was covered with mounds of notes and papers witch all bore codes. The living room was a dull green and contained a TV set, small couch and arm chair, and floor lamp. Ed was waiting for us on the couch.

"Would you like anything to eat 'Detective'?"

"No thank you." I replied.

"Let's continued from where we left off…" Ed said and started the end of his chilling tale. The last part was only the start of a big question. I'm getting a head of myself. Let's continue.

The mood swings continued until the end of the week. Friday was an unusually cloudy day. It was before history that we came upon the topic of Jack's mood swings.

"Chuck, the mood swings have stopped, but the black outs are getting worse."

"We don't know what's wrong with you, but we're trying to find out." Chuck answered as the bell rang and everyone took their seats. Masson came in and started his lesson on the movie industry and how it has helped the economy during troublesome times.

"During the Depression…" He started and Jack and Chuck started their own whispered conversation.

"Chuck, what are we going to do about these blackouts?" Jack asked in a whisper.

"I don't know, yet." Chuck replied.

"Guys…" I hissed.

"Not now, Ed. What do you mean by 'yet'?" Jack whispered.

"I could go home and…"

"GUYS" I hissed louder.

"WAIT!"

"…and look up for a cure or a possible treatment."

"When?"

"After school…"

"GUYS, this is important."

"What!!"

"Look behind you." I said as I pointed to Masson who was standing there with his arms crossed, staring down on Jack and Chuck.

"Now that I have you undivided attention, maybe you will listen long enough to hear that all of you will be having a detention after school-Today- Here." And, with a slight smirk, he walked back to his desk. "You WILL pay attention the rest of the class, if you want to pass for today."

After school, the three of us walked to Masson's room for our detention. I sat in a front row right side desk, Jack sat center row left side, and Chuck sat back row center. After about an hour's time Masson dismissed us.

"Jack, I would like to have a word with you." Masson said. We left the room and headed for the nearest exit.

"Wait." Chuck commanded, leaning against the wall and pulling a large mp3 player out.

"Why? And what is that?"

"This is a receiver; I dropped the transmitter in the class room. So we can see what Masson wants with Jack."

I must inform you that what follows is only what we heard on the receiver in the hall. Therefore I don't know any action going on within the room. Remember this.

"Do you know why I had you stay behind?"

"No."

"I thought that we could have a friendly conversation."

"I thought you didn't do 'friendly'."

"Let's start with some history; I know it's your favorite subject. I assume you know the story about Dracula."

"Yes."

"Well, you're not as stupid as I thought. Dracula was, unfortunately, killed by an angry mob, but his species still exists."

"What are you trying to say."

'SLAM' "VAMPIRES, JACK! YOU STUPID, IGNORENT LITTLE… He-He, Sorry- lost control."

"But, vampires aren't real, right?"

"Wrong. It took me longer than I anticipated, but I finally found my proof."

"What proof!?"

"Your parents, their vampires- those vile creat…" There was nothing else afterwards. Since that day we never saw Jack alive again.

**Chapter 5**

"And that concludes our part of the tale." Ed concluded and finished the last of his drink.

"Any questions" Chuck asked.

"Do you know where Mr. Masson is?"

"Nope. He vanished just as quickly as Jack did." Ed replied.

"Wait, you could contact a Mr. Bodner- the chief of police." Chuck informed. We said our good-byes and I went home to prepare for my meeting with the chief.

The next morning I went back to the station, and there sitting at the front desk was O'Herra. As I walked into the lobby, I greeted him, "Morning, O'Herra."

"Morning, Detective. What do you need?"

"Is the chief in today?"

"Why, yes. He just walked in about two minutes ago."

"I need to speak with him."

"Let me just give him a call to check with him." O'Herra said as he picked up the phone to call his office. I took a seat and waited. After about a minute or so, he hung up the phone.

"Right this way, Detective." He said opening a door that lead into a long hallway. "The chief's office is the last door on the left."

"Thanks."

As I walked down the hallway that was familiar to me, I happened to notice something different- the floor was washed and waxed along with the walls and ceiling. Now the place shined a brilliant white. I approached the door and knocked. "Come in." greeted my knocking and so I entered.

The office was a small white-walled one. On the right side were shelves of books and file cabinets that were probably filled with old cases. On the lat side was a neatly arranged desk that held a computer, name plate, a small desk-top calendar, pens, pencils, a stapler, and a tape dispenser. In front of the desk were two hard back chairs. Beside the chairs, hanging on the wall, was a coat rack.

Now, Chief Bodner was around 5'6" and somewhat built. His face was child-like with a slit thin mouth and a small fat nose, but his acid-green eyes, sitting behind the oval silver glasses, were alert to the surroundings. On top of it all sat his black crew-cut hair.

"Morning, Chief. And how are you?"

"Never better. Please, take a seat." He gestured toward a chair and I sat down. "Coffee?"

"No thanks. I was wondering if you knew a Mr. Masson."

"I used to, but we've been out of touch for over five years now. Last I saw him was in the hospital. He was in real pain. The bruises were plentiful and all over his body, He had a huge gash on his neck that wouldn't stop bleeding, not to mention the broken arm and leg. It looked like he got in the middle of a street fight. After that…"

He suddenly became quiet, like it was difficult for him to talk about it, and looked away from me. We sat for several minutes in silence until I broke it.

"Chief, I was also wondering how the slashed throat murders were coming."

"What?" he said and turned towards me. "Oh! Not good. All we have found are dead ends with no leads. We have suspended the case until we get any more leads."

"What was your last lead?"

"A strange person was seen walking through the warehouses at night. We sent two cops over there but, either the warehouses are being used or completely abandoned."

"Thanks, Chief for your time."

"Are you leaving?"

"Yes, I have some things to do before the day is done." I said getting up and heading towards the door.

"It was nice talking to you and…" He said as I shut the door and headed towards the exit.

As I headed to the warehouses, I changed the tape in the recorder so I would be ready for Mr. Masson. I finally arrived at one of the abandoned warehouse, parked the car and went inside. The main level floor was about two square acres in size. The windows, each about five feet tall, were about seven feet above the floor. The floor was empty except for scattered crates and boxes. On one wall there was a stair case heading up into an office.

I headed for the stair when I heard an indistinct wail coming from the unknown. "Who's there?" I yelled at no one in particular. Nothing responded so I shrugged the experience off and continued. I reached the steps and as soon as I stepped up something screamed 'GET OUT!' I knew that Mr. Masson might possibly be up in the room, so I ascended the stair case. Inside the office, from what I could make out in the dim light, ware old rags, boxes, and one broken TV set.

"Hello! Mr. Masson?!" I shouted at the darkness yet again. Suddenly a dark figure can falling down on opposite of the room of me. I didn't flinch. The figure stood up and started towards me, still in the darkness. It stopped in the middle of the room, from which I could see it better. The figure was wearing a long hooded coat that was jet black. The front of the coat was open and, underneath, was its torn, black shirt, pants, and shoes.

"Hello, Detective. I've been waiting to meet you. You finally found me. I congratulate you on your successful work. All my life I have been fascinated with the supernatural. Ghosts, demons, monsters, you name it; I studied it. Right now, my guess is, I'm starting to sound a lot like you, Detective. Am I correct?"

"Yes, you are correct, Mr. Masson." As soon as I said his name he hissed in despise. He regained himself and then spoke.

"Now that we know each others name, let's find out each others face." He said this and removed his hood. His face was about the same as he used to be, the only difference is that his face was a lot paler. His eyes were still hidden behind the black sunglasses, but he had a slight wheeze on his breath. He smiled at me revealing two sharp fangs.

"I see you noticed."

"Noticed what?" I said regaining eye contact.

"You know what. Don't play stupid with me. You want to know how I got them. You want to know my history. Correct?"

"Correct."

"Well let's cover from what started it all to my teaching days. It started back when I was about six years old. It was during the summer and my family wanted to go on a camping trip. So we packed up the car and drove all the way to Kentucky to camp. The drive took about three days with stops along the way. We were planning to stay for two weeks when, after only five days, a tragedy occurred.

That night a giant creature about seven feet tall and all covered in fur stumbled into our camp. My mother was woken by the cry of the creature and in a panic attack screamed. The creature, startled or angered by the scream, killed her and ran away into the forest. My dad and I were woken by the commotion, but had the sense not to make a sound. We went home the next day devastated.

Her funeral was small and it was there that I vowed to research and find all mysterious creatures in the world. The next day I spent all my time in the local library looking for the creature. After weeks of pain staking research, I found out that the creature was a rouge Bigfoot. After I figured out what the creature was, I started to learn any and everything about it.

As the years went by my Dad became more and more depressed. The last straw was the day I left for college. The police report said that he had put a gun in his mouth along with the narcotics. It was a legitimate suicide, but things were better at college. While I worked towards my teaching diploma, I helped run the campus paper. My job, as a field investigator, was to look into the different groups on campus.

You wouldn't believe how many other groups, besides the 'normal' groups, there are. I got everyone from the Goths to the Gangs. After college I got a part-time job editing stories for a smaller newspaper. Some of the stories included local events: middle-age basketball games, parades, shows, festivals, etc. After about three years of editing, I applied to work as a sub in the local school system. I was accepted as a substitute teacher and worked for about five more years.

During my free time, while I worked at both jobs, I started to find and research different areas of the supernatural. While I was editing, I was studying ghosts and poltergeist. There is a difference between ghosts or spirits and poltergeist. Ghosts are here to help or hurt humans. They wander around and are seen when they want to be seen. Poltergeist, on the other hand, come and cause mayhem.

I started my research on vampires during my time teaching. Then, after eight years of teaching, it happened. Was that enough to satisfy you for the time being?"

"Yes."

"Then I'll see you tomorrow. I know where to look." He said and restored his hood while vanishing into the darkness.

He didn't show again for two full weeks. I was grateful for that so I could work, in peace, on my journal. But, one evening, when I was walking home from dinner- I had grown tired of TV dinners, canned ravioli, and boxed Mac and cheese-, I took one of my short cuts, down an alley way, and that's where he came back.

"Good evening, detective. Have a good dinner?" A voice announced behind me. I stopped in my tracks and turned around to face the hooded figure known as Mr. Masson. He stood in the middle of the alley way where I had just walked. How he got there I don't know, however he couldn't have hidden any where in the alley.

"Good evening. Are you here about the rest of the story?"

"Correct. Why should a wonderful, thought inspiring, person like you be denied the right to the ending? Reporters like you should have that right. Too bad you got here first."

"Where are you…?"

"I, myself, am going no where, but this story- that is another question in it self. My last job was here, in Madison, working at the local high school in the history department. It was during my fifth year working when a boy named Jack Dilbert came into my class. He was a good, some what mischievous, hard-working student. Until I found out he was a vampire.

**Chapter 6**

I had made Jack and his friends stay for detention on day. They were talking during class and, being a teacher, I did what I had to do. After that class it occurred to me that it was a good opportunity to prove my theory correct about vampires. I first discovered vampires in the region after one news article:

_**Mystery Deaths Now at 10**_

_**Police Still Looking for Culprit(s)**_

The latest killing, which had occurred last night, was one of the most brutal. Mrs. Amanda Bennett was found dead on her front porch. According to eyewitness Stephen Brown, who was out walking his dog, 'two shadows were swooping in on her since the moment she left her car.' She never made it to the door. "She didn't even realize that they were upon her until it was too late." replied Mr. Brown.

The rest of the article was hidden from view- in the stand. The two shadow figures were indeed vampires. I had to figure out who these vampires were. So, to my luck, one night when I was helping with surveillance for my friend, Mr. Mannor, I saw a disturbing sight. The two shadow figures from the paper appeared on the camera in the kids' room, which was pretty big, and hovered over two of the kids.

Then they attacked. Their mouths went straight for the throat of the two children they were standing over. Blood spread quickly over the bedding and soon they moved onto the other children. Then as they were leaving, I caught a glimpse of the face of Mrs. Dilbert.

The sight of her face filled me with fear. The young woman I met at the open house. There her pale complexion was lit up with a ghostly glow. Her beautiful blond hair and flowing black dress made you feel secure and safe around her. You could have said it was her aura that made you feel safe. It was a good aura. But on that camera screen she was wicked. Her face had lost the glow and was deathly pale. Her eyes, I thought I would never see her eyes ever again, no iris, no pupil, just white-and mean.

Then, to cap the ensemble of vampirism, her fangs flashed in full view of the camera. I sat back from the screen in horror. How could that nice woman become so mean? It's not natural. But of course vampires aren't natural, either. So what is going on? At that time, I could not answer the question. Since the Mannor family was one of my best friends, I had to devise a way to get even. I figured it out the next day.

In class I remembered that the Dilberts had a son, Jack. So I waited until I could keep him after school with out arousing suspicion. A week or so passed before I caught him talking in class. So I assigned him and his friends, detention. What happened afterwards was appalling.

"Jack, I would like to have a word with you." I said not looking up from my desk. Ed and Chuck left the room and we were alone. I saw a small device on the desk where Chuck had been, so I went and retrieved it.

"Do you know why I had you stay behind?" I asked after I sat down.

"No." He replied angrily.

"I thought that we could have a friendly conversation." I said looking into his eyes with a sarcastic smile on my face. His face still glared.

"I thought you didn't do 'friendly'."

"Let's start with some history; I know it's your favorite subject." I got up from behind the desk and started to walk towards the book case. "I assume you know the story about Dracula." I asked as I removed a book, Dracula, from a shelf and started to flip through the pages.

"Yes." He said still staring at me- glaring.

"Well, you're not as stupid as I thought. Dracula was, unfortunately, killed by an angry mob, but his species still exists." I informed him as I went back behind my desk.

"What are you trying to say?"

'SLAM' I slammed the book on the desk and shouted, "VAMPIRES, JACK! YOU STUPID, IGNORENT LITTLE…" As soon as I said those words, his eyes became pure white and a deep dark voice came from his mouth.

"_If you ever insult my clan ever again, I will insure that you never see the light a day again. OK?_"

"He-He, Sorry- lost control." I said, my smirk vanishing, and chuckled nervously as newly formed beads of sweat rolled down my cheek.

"But, vampires aren't real, right?" Jack said angrily, his eyes returning to normal, after several silent seconds.

"Wrong." I corrected him regaining my air of control of him. "It took me longer than I anticipated, but I finally found my proof." I announced as I sat back down in my chair.

"What proof!?" Jack said warningly.

"Your parents, their vampires- those vile creat…"

I got too cocky. His eyes changed back to white and he yelled, "_I WARNED YOU NOT TO MAKE FUN OF MY CLAN! NOW YOU MUST DIE!_" And with that he leaped over the desk, breaking the small device, bearing teeth and aiming for my neck, but I was ready. Up from under the desk I revealed a pistol, loaded with an elephant tranquilizer dart, and fired at him. He went down on top of the desk. I released a sigh of relief.

I picked up Jack's unconscious body and dragged him into the back room and out the fire escape. Thankfully this one didn't have an alarm or I would have been discovered. I lugged the body into the back of my compact car and drove off. It was several hours before he woke up. I was in my living room when that happened.

Those ungodly howls of rage and anger came floating up through the floor boards so suddenly that I almost fell out of my seat. I yelled back at the floor, "Shut up! That is a reinforced cell, specially made for vampires! You can't escape! He- He- He"

"_You CAN'T keep me here! My parents will be searching for me, just like the Mannors searched for their kids."_ His dark voice proclaimed angrily at me. I went down stairs to inform my guest on his permanent room and board. My basement was unfinished and old. Mold seeped through the deteriorating cinder-blocks, helped by the leaky water pipes. Shelves, full of unknown materials were falling on top of one another. And the ground was covered with ashes of log ago fires.

Kiddie- corner to the rotting staircase was a large steel cage. Above it sat the lonely light bulb that gave light to this god forsaken place and inside it was Jack. His hands and waist were chained to one wall of the cage. The cage and chains were made of threaded titanium. I stopped at the bottom of the stairs, barely visible to Jack.

"Well, well, well, my guest has finally awoken. How do you like your new home?" I gloated.

"_Let me out right now. You can't keep me here._"

"Yes I can. No one knows you're here. Now I finally have a live specimen of a vampire. I can use you as proof, to the Mannors, that vampires killed their children."

"_I did not kill any one, yet. Release me now and I will let you go unscathed. For years my clan…_" he started to monolog.

"Ooooooh Shut Up! You don't know anything about your history- you're what, sixteen?! I, of all people should know more about vampires than anyone, including you!"

"_What you don't know is that vampires' teeth are indestructible and can bite through anything._" And with that comment he started to bite through his chains that bound him to the cage wall.

After he freed his hands and waist from his chains, he tore through the bars like they were food. I was not ready for this- only having a cattle prod to protect me with. I needed to run upstairs and grab one of my guns. He paused for a moment outside the cage, huffing and puffing, before he came running at me. As he leaped into the air, to tackle me to the ground, I took the cattle prod and shoved it into his stomach- he went down doubled over.

While he was still on the ground, I started to head up stairs, but suddenly fell through the stairs. I forgot to jump the second stair that was unsteady and could not hold weight. Through the dust from the collapse, I could see Jack still stumbling and cursing from the jolt. Thank God the stairs didn't break too far up so, I stood up and lifted myself back onto the stair case.

I restarted back up the stairs, thankfully, they were all sturdy. As I entered the hallway, I slammed the door shut and locked it. 'Thump' came from behind the door and an angry howl followed. I sprinted towards the gun cabinet and reached it just in time. For Jack had rammed the door down. I threw open the doors and reached for the twelve gage. I grabbed the gun and turned around. He was standing right in front of me.

I looked into his eyes, white with fury and hatred, and just stood there, staring. You know when, in books and movies, characters stand still, staring, when something horrible is happening- that isn't a good feeling. You feel like you're next, after whatever is happening- well, not me. I was staring into hatred, fear- pure evil. This all came to me in the time span of three seconds.

He picked me up with one hand and threw me across the room. I hit the ground, hard, twelve gage still in hand. He walked over to me and threw me again. I slammed into the TV set, shattering it. Smoke and sparks came shooting out of the set as well as glass. He picked me up again, thinking I was defeated and sunk his teeth into my neck.

I could feel the blood flowing into his mouth and being exchanged with his saliva- contaminated saliva. After thirty seconds of drinking my blood he let me fall to the ground. While he was relishing in the assumed victory of his first kill, I mustard up enough strength to crawl up to his leg and bit him back. When the skin broke, there was a flood of blood flowing into my mouth. Somehow the blood gave me strength, I could feel it flowing through-out my body.

Jack fell to the ground and I let go. Both of us covered in blood. I cocked the shotgun and aimed it at his chest. 'CRACK' the gun sounded as I pulled the trigger back all the way. After I recovered from the force of the shot I saw the damage. His entire chest had been blown out. Blood and guts were splashed everywhere while tendons and muscles were visible hanging in the hole.

His eyes had returned to normal and gave off the feeling of shock and disbelief, that he, the part-undead, was actually killed. I stood looking at his young pathetic body, breathing deep breaths. I could feel more strength coursing through my body and that gave me new confidence.

**Chapter 7**

"The irony of the situation was that, in either bite, I don't know which one, but the vampirical virus, for lack of a better word, was transferred to me. So in a sense, killing Jack only created a new vampire."

"True, true", we were still discussing what happened the Jack. During the beginning story we walked all the way back to the warehouse, which wasn't a long walk, and sat in his little office.

"I'm glad I could trust you. I needed to get that off my chest and tell one other person. But there is one thing I still want to ask of you. I want you to keep this our little secret. I know that the Dilberts are dead, but jack's friends are still alive and my life maybe at risk."

"Too Late" I said as I pulled the tape recorder out of my pocket and stopped it. I've never seen anyone get angrier faster than Mr. Masson did. His eyes turned pure white, like Jack's did in the story.

"_Now that I think of it, why did I ever trust you? You're just like all of the other reporters, who will do anything to get their story. No matter how many people get hut in the process. And I will take care of you just like all the other reporters._" He ranted in the deep dark voice of the vampire, with his back to me.

But unknown to him I was gone before he could finish his rant. I will assume that when he turned around he was even more pissed off. I ran out of the warehouse as fast as I could, heading to the only place I knew of where I could evade Mr. Masson. I was headed to Ed's house.

…

When I reached Ed's house, he was either asleep or gone, because the place was dark. Mr. Masson was nowhere to be seen, but I knew he was near. As I jogged around the house, looking for an entrance, I spied a window open that had no screen. With out a moment of hesitation, I pulled myself through the window.

"_Going inside won't get rid of me. It will only make my job easier._" He taunted me. The bedroom was small and plain. Ed's twin mattress bed stood empty and made, a sign he wasn't home. I exited out of the room and into the hall way. I could barely see as I went down the hall. I came upon another door, and opened it. It was the door to the kitchen.

I went out the same way and followed the wall on the other side of the hall. The door I found was the correct door. The small elevator was waiting up here for me, but the strange thing was that the light was on. I pressed the button and headed down into the basement. The elevator grinded to a halt and I left as Mr. Masson came down through the shaft.

"_Out of breath or surrendering willfully?_"

"Neither" I said as I jumped on to the black tile I was told to stay off of. The floor gave way immediately. And I fell into the darkness of the death maze. It was only a ten foot drop but I still hit the ground and rolled to my right two times. I got up, brushed myself off and took a look around. I landed in a giant circular cavern filled with 3x3 pillars that supported the white tiles. Around the edge of the cavern were tunnels about six feet tall.

I took off running towards one of the tunnels, knowing that Mr. Masson was close behind. These smaller tunnels were made of an uneven surface of brown and grey rocks, unlike the larger cavern. The tunnel seemed to go on forever. Then suddenly I heard a hollow rush of air and stopped in time to see three steel spikes come falling down from the ceiling. After a few second they retreated back into the ceiling. I continued on, till I hit a junction. There I took a right.

I ran on for several minutes wondering if I would find another spike wall, when I came upon a large cavern. This cavern was smaller than the first but just as long. The floor was covered in different colored stones of different sizes and shapes. The colors of the stones were different- brown and grey. They covered the entire width of the cavern and all of the length except for about five feet on either end.

Etched into a smooth portion of the wall on my left stood a riddle:

Find your way across the room

Take a wrong step to spell your doom

The cracked ones aren't the way

And neither are the grey

This was all I needed to know. To prove I was correct, there seemed to be more grey stones on the floor then brown. So I started across the cavern, taking care not to step on any of the grey. Near the half way point, I came across a double line of grey stones. I could hear a distant roar of an unearthly creature drawing near. That is what provoked me to jump.

I hit a large brown stone, flailed my arms, and almost fell forward onto a grey stone. I regained my balance and continued. I reached the other side huffing and puffing.

"_Come out 'Detective'. Come out; come out, where ever you are. I only want you to join me._" Mr. Masson taunted me. I looked around to see if he was in this cavern, but I stood alone. This is when I realized that the vice I heard was only in my head. That one of the powers of a vampire is the ability to speak only to the person(s) you choose.

I hurried out through the small tunnel, trying to get away. Trying to find a way out. The tunnel wrapped around in a large half circle and then… 'WHAM' more spikes came down from the ceiling, narrowly missing me. I looked at the wall to see what was setting of the spikes. Midway between the hip and knee, embedded in the wall, sat a small light. If I never stopped to check I would have never seen it.

Because the spikes went back up, I lay down and shimmied under the beam. I moved cautiously down the corridor. At the end of the corridor I took a right and found myself inside of a cave that was ten square feet. In the center was a table and chair. On the table was a light screen with a slide puzzle locked on top. The screen was connected to a projector that was showing the puzzle on the wall.

I pulled out the chair and sat down. As soon as I sat down, the entrance closed off, leaving only the light of the board to see, and a voice announced throughout the room:

"You have one hour to complete the puzzle."

I examined the slides more closely. They appeared to be symbols that would depict a message. They read:











I got to work on deciphering the puzzle. Time passed and still nothing was happening. With about thirty minutes to go, and still nothing happening. I decided to reassess the puzzle. After looking at the symbols for another five minutes I noticed that they were probably written in wingding. It took me another five minutes to decipher what the symbols stood for. Twenty minuets left.

The letter arrangements made no sense. I shifted them around some more, then it dawned on me- I knew the message. Fifteen minuets left. I slid the first row together with ease, yet it only got harder. Thirteen minuets left. I still couldn't figure out how to get the words in place… symbols in the wrong places. Seven minutes left. Next two rows done… running out of room to maneuver… Time's running out. Two minutes left.

…

I finished the final two rows with only thirty seconds left. As soon as the final symbol was in place, the wall, were the image was projected, opened and light poured in. The screen now read:











As my eyes adjusted to the light I headed into the tunnel and away from that horrible room.

**Chapter 8**

How long have I been in here? Several hours? a day? Every thing looks the same and the lights never change. I'm getting a little thirsty… and hungry. I couldn't run anymore- only jog. Anyways it was too dangerous to run. So I moved cautiously. I had passed through three, or was it five- don't remember, spike walls before I came to a darkened tunnel. I could hear something moving mechanically.

They were giant swinging axes and retracting saw blades. Fear told me to turn around and find another way, but my mind said this was the way. I stepped into the corridor and waited for my eyes to adjust to the dim light. I moved on. I ducked under the first set of saws and jumped over the first swinging axe. I heard the faint sound of the rush of air and dropped as an arrow shot at the level my chest used to be at.

I rolled over to see an axe falling down, above my head. I curled up as the blade of the axe grazed my head. I sat there breathing deeply, feeling, for the first time in my life, true fear. I could possibly die in here, but I must go on. I got up and stepped over the axe, treading carefully. I jumped over a saw attacking my ankles and rolled under an axe.

I stay crouched down because two arrows had fired above my head. I looked down to see a slit in the ground. I rolled out of position as a saw came up vertically, cutting a half inch of the bottom of the right boot. I looked up and saw I was near the end of the hallway. The way was clear, but didn't feel right.

"Hey! Hey you!" A man stood on the out side of the hall called to me. "I'm so glad I finally found someone else. I've been trapped in this maze for a good three days." He started towards me. "I thought I was goin…" That was the last time he spoke for two axes swung horizontally through the hall, severing his head. The axes vanished back into the wall. I collected my courage and started forward.

…

It had been two hours since I left the hall and I was resting in a dead end. I must be going crazy. Every few minutes I hear the flapping of wings, like a bat. Why did I come in here? I've almost been killed a dozen times. Why didn't I face Mr. Masson in the open? Am I a coward? People say that the young are foolish and that is what happened. My young eager self thought this was a good way to kill Mr. Masson, but now, it was stupid of me to go too.

'Curiosity killed the cat'. I must remember that when I feel like being macho, brave, or heroic. That's for super-heroes not reporters. Were here to cover the deeds of heroes, not become them. Stupidity. That's what got into me. I shouldn't wine and cry now; I could do that after I get out of this predicament. All I have to do now is- pick myself up and hope that I get out alive.

That was exactly what I did. I pressed onward until I came to a smaller cavern with straw for a floor. Before me there stood three grey wolves. They probably roamed the corridors for lost people and this was their den. I looked to my left and right to see if I could find any weapons, but only found several broken bones. I picked up two that had sharpened points and prepared for an attack.

One of the bones, I had picked up; I threw at the wolf that stood in the center. It killed him instantly. The other two leaped forward, snarling. I bat at each of them with my hand, knocking them away. I stabbed the one on my right and turned around to be knocked over by the last one. It howled and snarled and tried to bite at my face as I held it back, without a weapon.

I worked at trying to rock the wolf off my chest and to retrieve a weapon. The wolf was thrown off to my left, and I turned the other way, reaching for the bone sticking out of the other wolf. I yanked it out of the body and faced the last wolf as it jumped at me. I thrust the bone between the ribs of the attacking wolf, killing it instantly. The body landed next to me as I sat back recovering my breath, splattered with blood.

I looked around for some pool of water to wash up in, I didn't want any other wolves to smell me in the tunnels, and I found one in the corner. I crawled through the straw towards the water. The water contained several bits of straw, but was otherwise clean. I splashed the water in my face, clearing away the blood. I stuck my face under the water to take a drink and when I came back up, some one was clapping.

"_Go-od. Ve-ry good. I believe you have had fun in this maze. I was surprised you wanted to come in here, after all, it was deadly. You also met someone? He used to be a serial killer, but the government allowed Ed to put him in here._" Mr. Masson taunted.

"Get out of my head you twisted human." I replied, turning around to meet him face to face. He looked the same as when I first met him, except for the white eyes.

"_Why? Were all alone and no one can hear you scream. I hope death is a fun experience, I wouldn't know, I've never died._"

And with that he fished a short dagger out of his trench coat and leaped at me. I dived out of the way, towards where the first wolf was killed. Mr. Masson fell into the pool of water and came up drenched with the water and blood. I started to crawl towards the dead wolf, but was stopped only inches away by none other than Mr. Masson.

"_You thought you could kill me with a human rib, but I was too fast. Now I won't make the same mistake as Jack did. I will make sure you're dead before I relish in my victory._"

With that he flipped me over on the ground and picked me up, pinning my arms at my sides. He lifted me off the ground and was aiming for the kill when I kicked him between the legs. He was down in three seconds flat, rolling, crying, and cursing. I hit the ground and, even though I wasn't far from the ground, collapsed away from Mr. Masson. The fall had winded me, but not for too long, because Mr. Masson was recovering from the blow. I looked to my right and left for some form of defense and found I landed next to the dead wolf carcass.

Luck was on my side today. I removed the bone from the body and turned back to see Mr. Masson flying right at me. He landed on top of me and his anger gave way to pain. When he landed, I had the bone sticking up like a deadly spike.

"_Yo-u won. And so en-ds t-he vam-pire's c-ockt-ail._" He gasped his dieing words. His head collapsed on my upper chest. I pushed the dead vampire off of me and he fell on his back, the bone stuck deeply in his chest.

I breathed a sigh of relief. It was over. I had stopped the slashed-throat murderer and this so called vampire's cocktail. But what was is a vampire's cocktail? My best guess is that it is what occurs when two vampires mate. That creates a creature that is more powerful than the devil himself. This line of mutation didn't have the time to grow due to the fact of absolute corruption.

Even though Mr. Masson had been killed I was still stuck in the maze. I had to press on. My body was getting weak from the lack of food. I got up, took the bone out of Mr. Masson, for protection, and headed out of the den. It took about another half hour to navigate my way to a sign that pointed towards the exit. Why was there a sign here to help me towards escaping? There must be a final trap or something. I am going to have to be careful if I want to get out of here alive.

I continued to follow the well marked path. My suspicion grew. I finally came to the largest cave I had ever seen. The cave was about a fifty by sixty foot box around thirty feet tall. The walls, floor and ceiling were as smooth as glass, but still made of rock. There was a door across the room from me. It was hard to tell what was on the door so I stepped into the room. As soon as I did the opening behind me closed and vanished into the wall.

I walked about ten feet and reassessed the room. I was still fifty feet form the door, but the walls had shrunk to forty-five feet. I ran for the door. By the time I got to the door the walls had shrunk to thirty-seven feet. On the door were four different complicated locking devices. I'm guessing the objective to this is to open the door before the walls close in. Thirty-five feet left.

The first lock was a basic wheel and steel bar brace. Turning the wheel would lock or unlock the door. The next lock was a combination lock that consisted of the number pad (including the , 0, and #) and a screen that could hold a four number digit. The third lock consisted of three different card key slides. The final lock was an encrypted password accessed by the key board next to the door. Above it were ten plastic cards in a vanilla folder.

**Chapter 9**

Only thirty feet left. Time was of the essence. I started to examine the sides of the door. Looking into the small crack was quite a challenge due to the tight fit. Twenty- five feet left. Underneath the door, while lying on my stomach, I could see a faint light coming though. But I couldn't see any light around the sides. Twenty-three feet left. A panic started to come over me. Telling me to try and see if I could open the locks, but my logic said that there was more to it than the locks.

Twenty feet left. Claustrophobic would be the right word to describe the feeling at that time. To tell you the truth, I'm not very claustrophobic. I feel comfortable in small unchanging spaces. But in this ever shrinking space anyone would become claustrophobic. The same was true for me. This small space and my failure to solve the puzzle were playing on my nerves- causing a panic attack. Fifteen feet left.

Wait! I could feel a breeze coming from under and the sides of the door. Maybe the door was never locked? Nah! It would be to easy to leave the door open. There must be a way- any way. The door could be open. Ten feet left. Now I could see light coming out of the sides. The door is open. Five feet left. The walls have speed up. Hurry- the door handle. It turned.

_**SLAM!!**_

The walls had closed completely just after I got out the door. I looked behind me and saw that the walls were perfectly sealed. Ahead of me was a tight spiral staircase that was poorly lit. I started to slowly ascend the stairs, being cautious in case of a trap. But none cane as I reached the top of a small landing and a door. Since the door had no handle, I assumed that it was outward swinging, so I pushed.

The door opened into Ed's workshop where I was happily greeted by Ed and Chuck.

"Welcome back!" they cried in unison. I was good to be back.

"So…How did you like the maze?" Ed asked.

"Pretty challenging, I especially liked the saw hall." I said trying to sound cool.

"I thought you would bypass that trap. There were more fun ones the other way. Boy you must be daring." Ed said. He held a slight grin on his face as he said this.

"Yeah I… How did you know I went down that hallway?" I inquired.

"The screens, there is a closed- circuit camera system through out the maze. See" He responded as he walked over to the wall of screens and flipped a switch. Suddenly the screens filled with different places though out the underground maze.

I saw the saws, the locked door, the rune scramble, the stone floor, and the wolf den. There were also many other rooms that I wasn't lucky enough to experience during my trip. There were also views of many of the hallways and dead ends. I took this discovery hard. They knew I was trapped in that maze, spawned in hell and designed by Satan, and didn't bother to rescue me. I couldn't stand there and look at those two. I had to go.

"Sorry guys, but I need to get home and rest. 'Sigh' after what I have been though tonight…" I couldn't say any more.

"We understand." Chuck said, "Well good bye." He shook my hand.

"See you 'round." Ed said and shook my hand too. I walked past them and went to the elevator. I took the elevator up and left through the front door. At the end of the driveway I turned around and said a silent good bye. I headed down the sidewalk, to the right, staring at the pavement depressingly.

That was the last time I ever saw them. When I got into my apartment, I finished writing my report and worked on this journal until I was too tired to write. The next morning a letter came to me. It was unusual that I received any mail from someone besides the government. The paper inside was red with dark black writing. The letters were thin and loopy.

I never saw that type of writing, or paper as a matter of fact, before. The letter said this:

Dear Detective,

I have perused through some of your writings on the occult. And I feel that my story is worth a great deal to the world of the mysterious and macabre. This story is much closer to a history, the retelling of little known past events, than a true story, a made up tale based on real events.

The reason I have for wanting to share these historic memories of the past would be that I have come to trust you, even though we have never met face-to-face in-person, through your writing. I may also be able to inform you about something that may happen in the upcoming future- for a price.

Seriously, all joking aside, I cordially invite you to come and join me up in bright snowy Wichita, Colorado. It's a little small town around 30 miles NW of Denver. See attachment for more precise information.

Shined,

An Anonymous Admirer

I had read the latter and immediately started packing- I was going to Denver. After I finished packing, I paid the monthly rent and started to walk to the airport. On the way to the airport I dropped off a transcript of the article, the one about what has happened during my stay in Madison, for the Inquirer, at the post office. When I reached the airport I bought my tickets and boarded my flight.

I have finished this last entry on the plane while flying over the Great Plains. I hope this story will become widely known and I shall start my next on up in Colorado.

_**To be continued…**_


End file.
